NASHVILLE: Thirty-two teens escaped from a youth detention centre in Nashville by crawling under a weak spot in a fence late on Monday, and nine of them were still on the run on Tuesday, a spokesman said.

The teens — ages 14 to 19 — left their rooms and went into a common area, where they overwhelmed 16 to 18 staff members, Tennessee Department of Children’s Services spokesman Rob Johnson said.

The group then kicked out a metal panel under a window to get out of the building and into a yard, Johnson said. The teens were running in the yard for a few minutes, and then they realised they could lift part of the chain-link fence and crawl out, Johnson said.

He said the fence is buried 8 inches deep into the ground, but the teens managed to pull up a weak portion and get out underneath. Once staff members saw some of the group escaping, they called the police, Johnson said.

Two teens were captured immediately and others were found overnight, Johnson said.

Some were found by authorities, others turned themselves in, and others were turned in by their parents, he said.

No staff members at the Woodland Hills Youth Development Centre were hurt in the incident, officials said.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2014